Rail transport in Albania

The railways in Albania are administered by the national railway company Hekurudha Shqiptare (HSH) (which means Albanian Railways). It operates a 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in) gauge (standard gauge) rail system in Albania. All trains are hauled by Czech-built ČKD diesel-electric locomotives. The system is considered by many travel guides as a tourist attraction and de facto a panoramic train journey.

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The country's first standard gauge line was not built until 1947, although some narrow (decauville) gauge lines were built earlier during World War I. There is one international link with Montenegro, the Podgorica–Shkodër railway, which has only ever been used for freight traffic, and whose last station in Albania is the Bajzë Rail Station.

The railway system was extensively promoted by the totalitarian regime of Enver Hoxha, during which time the use of private motor transport was effectively prohibited.

Since the collapse of the former regime, there has been a considerable increase in car ownership and bus usage. Whilst some of the country's roads are still in a very poor condition, there have been other developments (such as the construction of a motorway between Tirana and Durrës) which have taken much traffic away from the railways.

Vorë–Tirana is no longer operational as of September 2013. This is due to the fact that Tirana station has been demolished to make way for a new road project. It is now necessary to catch the rail replacement bus service from outside what is left of Tirana station to Vorë to catch onward rail connections. This operates between the two towns as part of the Durrës–Tiranë railway.

The rails from the line Milot–Rubik–Rrëshen have been partially removed to repair the line to Montenegro. The line should have led to the Nuclear Power Plant of Klos, but was never finished. Currently a new railway link is being built between Rrëshen and the border to Kosovo.

Prrenjas railway scrap yard

The Librazhd-Pogradec line, the most beautiful part of the Albanian railway network was closed for passenger traffic in 2012. The stored locomotives and wagons from Prrenjas are being moved to Elbasan. As a result, the railway is probably going to be dismantled, as it doesn't link any major cities.

There are several freight-only branch lines. Regular freight trains run between Podgorica and Shkodër every weekday (with an Albanian or a Montenegrean locomotive alternating daily) and between Durrës and the oil refinery at Ballsh about once a week. The Tirana-Shkodër and the Durrës-Elbasan lines are normally served by mixed trains.